Too bad about the stumbles from Scott on the twizzles. They looked great in practice. Perhaps skating at home he got too excited or distracted. Shame i think they won't catch D/W in the Free. Even if they win Carmen. Hope they win the Free dance at least as i think its a masterpiece.

D/W were wonderful. So light and free when they skated. Twizzles amazing.Well deserved win. Wish people were not so hard on Meryl or Scott for comments made as sometimes its more the writer making it sound worse.

W/P loved them. I just adore the way they perform. I feel they bring their emotion to their performance. Gave me teary eyes at her reaction after the skate as she came back from that broken leg not long ago.

Also really love the Shibs, i would have had them over C/B , they are so smooth and have such great edge quality.

I actually like both Russian couples B/S and I/K, they both have great quality to their skating. B/S were better today though.

To me it seems like the London audience are very supportive to all skaters who draw them into the performance.

Not a huge fan of G/P yet as the quality of her skating is not smooth enough but really like their enthusiasm skating. She has a lightness to her like Meryl but not yet as strong.

People in the rink said on Russian forums that the audience was very unsupportive. Some people even left and those who stayed demonstrated very petty attitude. B/S were like skating in the empty arena. More cheers to them for good showing in spite of all.

Pj Kwong now looks even more stupid when she accused the Japanese audience for hostile attitude to rivals.

Some stories from the rink are just anecdotes. One Canadian granny was shocked when the R-fans showed her the Russian flag. She thought it was French, she didn't know that the red flag of the USSR hasn't been in use since 1991. Lol. Not a huge surprise in fact considering that some their countrymen wrote on GS that there was a Russia-Canada war in 1812. That is probably indeed what they teach them at school.

The audience in general is a retirement village. Very few younger people, not as some Euros are accustomed to see at fs events.

I haven't looked at the recent general rules, but I believe it is the technical levels that can be challenged, not the judges scores. They are dealt with by dropping the lowest and highest score already.

Not a huge surprise in fact considering that some their countrymen wrote on GS that there was a Russia-Canada war in 1812. That is probably indeed what they teach them at school.

They probably meant the Canadian invasion of Russia in 1918, when, according to this recent book, the ruling elite of Canada, supported by the bourgeoisie, sent an expedition from Victoria to Vladivostok to overthrow the peoples' new government. Fortunately, the working class in Canada rebelled against this imperialistic war-mongering and forced the Canadian government to retreat.

On the other hand, in the actual "War of 1812" (the U.S.- British one, not Napoleon's adventures in Russia ). one of the issues was that the United States wanted to annex Canada. It backfired and we had to cede Detroit to Canada (but we got it back the next year). I'm not sure which side Meryl Davis' ancestor fought on.

Re: Shibs, I thought a protest could be filed before the end of the event (the SD). Did their coaches not have access to and review the scores?

I don't understand why the Shibs keep getting worse placements as time goes on. I don't see anything wrong with their skating. Can someone explain?

I don't think it's all on them but rather all their competitors are performing at a higher level. They were close to a personal best yesterday and was still 8th. (In 2011 they were 4th with nearly the same score).

I do think that the judges do not care for their SD as it's been scoring low all season though judges seem to like the execution of it. Their PCS is where they are in a world of hurt.

Their FD has been better received and the scores between 5th and 9th are pretty close so they could move up.

In the end, I don't think the 4.75 error affected things that much given, as Doris points out, the lowest scores are thrown out anyway.

Disappointed that Gilles & Poirier finished in 15th. They deserved higher than that. They skated a clean program and were better than a number of the teams that placed ahead of them. Seems like they were penalized because they skated early in the night and because they hadn't been at the Worlds as a team before.

I'm hoping they can move up in the Free Dance the way they have at other events this season.

They were appropriately marked. The difference between Poirier's and Gilles' skating skills is a yawning gulf, and it is very obvious. Skate Canada has been scoring G/P based on PAUL's skills, but ISU judges see them as a not-so-equal pairing. They may move up some after the FD, but top 10 is not likely.

Wondering Let's talk, who are your favourite Canadian skaters that you cheer for?

I like watching Kurt in shows. I wrote more than once why, so I won't bother to repeat. Yet I don't like when he spells "Kazuka" in his twitter. Stojko contributed a lot in Men's fs and he doesn't seem like a jerk. Among currently competing ones Tran, Kevin, Rogozine seem like normal nice people, not some bad mouthing arrogant divas (I am sure you know who I mean). But I can't say I am much in love with their skating though.

Good review and my thoughts as well. I like how you did not put anyone down in your comments. Very refreshing!

Originally Posted by figuristka

Had to catch up on the short late

Too bad about the stumbles from Scott on the twizzles. They looked great in practice. Perhaps skating at home he got too excited or distracted. Shame i think they won't catch D/W in the Free. Even if they win Carmen. Hope they win the Free dance at least as i think its a masterpiece.

D/W were wonderful. So light and free when they skated. Twizzles amazing.Well deserved win. Wish people were not so hard on Meryl or Scott for comments made as sometimes its more the writer making it sound worse.

W/P loved them. I just adore the way they perform. I feel they bring their emotion to their performance. Gave me teary eyes at her reaction after the skate as she came back from that broken leg not long ago.

Also really love the Shibs, i would have had them over C/B , they are so smooth and have such great edge quality.

I actually like both Russian couples B/S and I/K, they both have great quality to their skating. B/S were better today though.

To me it seems like the London audience are very supportive to all skaters who draw them into the performance.

Not a huge fan of G/P yet as the quality of her skating is not smooth enough but really like their enthusiasm skating. She has a lightness to her like Meryl but not yet as strong.

let's talk, I said there was a War of 1812. Look it up. I'll even give you the link. I never said it had anything to do with Russia. Please don't put words in my mouth.

I didn't put anything in your mouth. Don't lie. You yourself called me "the most relentlessly anti-Canadian xenophobe since the War of 1812" in Men SP thread. And your only reason was this ^? Jeez.. What does a present Russian resident of Japan have to do with some Anglo-American war conflict of 1812? I am more than sure I am innocent. I am also sure that there wasn't such a thing as "anti-Canadian xenophobe in 1812" simply because there was no subjcet of law called "Canada" in 1812. Canada was just a geography. If they write it differently in your school books, then don't study those trash books.

Originally Posted by Mathman

They probably meant the Canadian invasion of Russia in 1918, when, according to this recent book, the ruling elite of Canada, supported by the bourgeoisie, sent an expedition from Victoria to Vladivostok to overthrow the peoples' new government. Fortunately, the working class in Canada rebelled against this imperialistic war-mongering and forced the Canadian government to retreat.http://www.wsws.org/en/media/photos/...t-book-250.jpg

"They" is ImaginaryPogue and she already explained what she meant- 1812, not 1918.

"The Canadian invasion of Russia"? Is it how they call it in their textbooks? Charming! Really effective way to feel better about themselves by saying "we invaded Russia!" The total Siberian Allied intervention was indeed rather big military march in R-land's depths where Japanese held the hugest majority of allied troops (73K), followed by the US (about 8K, i.e. ten times less than J-forces). Everyone wanted the piece of cake thinking that bolsheviks won't survive for long and the government-less land will be an easy treat. The rest you know.